Chelsea v Sunderland: Rafa Benítez tells Paolo Di Canio he can't work miracles if he doesn't have the right players

Rafael Benítez, the Chelsea interim manager, has suggested Paolo Di Canio will
struggle to breathe new life into Sunderland, claiming that the Italian’s
players are simply not good enough.

Speaking out: Rafa Benitez doesn't believe a manager can make a crucial difference if he doesn't have the right playersPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

By Jon West

11:00PM BST 06 Apr 2013

Benítez provides Di Canio with his first Premier League opposition this afternoon, and his comments are unlikely to go unnoticed in the visitors’ dressing room.

“We are playing Sunderland, not the manager,” he said. “I don’t think the manager can make that much difference if they do not have the right players. We know we can play well and I don’t want to talk about managers. The attention will probably be on him. But I am not worried. We need to stay focused and not be watching the other bench.”

Chelsea are in the middle of a sequence of fixtures that includes a Europa League quarter-final second-leg trip to Rubin Kazan on Thursday and an FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City 72 hours later. The Sunderland game is the fourth of six games in 16 days as they tussle with Tottenham and Arsenal for Champions League qualification.

That run has forced Benítez into a frantic policy of rotation. Demba Ba, cup-tied on Thursday, is available to relieve Fernando Torres of his duties up front, and defenders Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill are likely to remain sidelined by injury. “Yes, there will be some,” the Spaniard confirmed, when asked about likely changes.

One man Benítez is keen to play as much as possible is Juan Mata, the Spanish playmaker and chief supplier of assists. Gareth Bale, Luis Suárez and Robin van Persie are regarded as the main candidates for the player of the season accolades but Eden Hazard is convinced his team-mate would be a worthy winner.